Location: Noosaville, Sunshine Coast, Australia
I was off-road today on a slippery track with tree roots, making it a different ride, and I thought about my default braking system. Depending on the terrain, downhill and uphill will be different but on a flat (probably blue track), I am 70% back and 30%front
Back brake first to get to a comfortable speed and then front brake so I don't skid, on my back tyre or my front tyre.
I'm very interested in what other riders do.
What do you do?
Modulating your brakes gives you different dynamics depending on what you're trying to do.
For example, if you're on a descent, you can modulate the front brake to make a clean, sharp turn. The inertia in the front of the bike is proactively controlled, enabling more dynamic control over the steering.
Modulating the rear brake opens up the back, and keeps everything loose in the front. If you're on a flat descent, and don't need any hard controls, that's where you would lean towards the back brake.
For you case, I would have suggested a balance is best. You don't want the steering to get too loose going over roots, and you don't want the rear to get too tight either. You want the bike to be open, but controlled. That's like a 50/50 split, with like 50% modulation on the brakes.
Location: Noosaville, Sunshine Coast, Australia
Great, Thanks for the feedback. Give it some thought doing the "Boneyards" track tomorrow